


The Fifteenth Time

by sagxshi



Category: Portal (Video Game)
Genre: Android!Virgil, Core!Glitchy, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:07:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23203699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sagxshi/pseuds/sagxshi
Summary: Glitchy visits Virgil for repairs again. Virgil gives him some advice.
Relationships: Virgil/Glitchy
Comments: 5
Kudos: 31





	The Fifteenth Time

**Author's Note:**

> There is a SEVERE lack of content for this ship, so I'm taking matters into my own hands.   
> The relationship is sorta just implied. You could also just interpret this as platonic if that's what you prefer.   
> Also, this is Android Virgil and Core Glitchy, so please keep that in mind!

"This is the fifteenth time you've come in this week, Glitchy. It's only Wednesday. What did you do _this_ time?"

Virgil, hearing the other core enter, spun himself around until he was facing the doorway. Glitchy came in so often for repairs that Virgil was able to tell when he came in without needing to keep an eye on the entrance to his repair wing. The aforementioned core hung inside the doorway, looking more damaged than usual. His optic had a pretty severe crack, his outer hull was dented in several places, and the poor thing emitted rather painful-looking sparks each time he moved. Glitchy raised his lower eyelid in a meek smile and cautiously approached Virgil.

"I-I thought that maybe my true purpose was to swim..." He finally answered. As he spoke, he averted his optic in an embarrassed manner. Glitchy could feel Virgil's disappointed gaze burning holes in his hull. Or maybe that was just his internal electronics frying. He couldn't tell.

The mechanic let out a deep sigh, his shoulders slumping in disappointment. Of all the stupid things Glitchy did on a daily basis, this stunt was particularly moronic. As annoyed as he was with his friend's antics, he couldn't turn him away. Besides, it's not like he was doing anything particularly important before Glitchy came in. He wasn't going to let him off easy, though.

"So you threw yourself into a pond? Jeez, Glitchy... I used to think that no one could be dumber than Wheatley, but I think you've just proven me wrong. Water and electronics don't mix," Virgil chided. "You really should know better by now." He reached up and pulled the core off of the management rail, being careful to not damage him further. Glitchy was rather delicate for a core (despite the way he acted) and one wrong move could set him ablaze. The core continued to avoid eye contact and stayed silent as Virgil checked him over to determine what repairs would need to be done. After a few moments, Virgil hummed thoughtfully and carefully set Glitchy down on his repair table. "Well, there is some good news. I've seen you in worse condition. The bad news is the damage is still pretty bad, and I haven't even opened you up yet. The way you're sparking suggests that there's water damage."

"B-But it's still fixable... right?" Glitchy asked hopefully, finally meeting Virgil's eyes. He flinched as the motion set off another spark, and he whimpered quietly. Virgil gave him a comforting pat before turning to rummage around in his drawers for tools.

"The external stuff is easily fixed. I can smooth over those dents and replace your optic without issue. After that's done, I'll have to open you up and see exactly where the damage is. Luckily, the important parts like your voice processor and motherboard seem to be okay, and those are the hardest to replace," Virgil explained. After a few moments of searching, he held up his chosen tools triumphantly. "Aha! Here they are."

He turned back to Glitchy, the core looking at him nervously. Virgil set the tools down beside him and gently rubbed the top of Glitchy's 'head' in an attempt to calm him down. "Trust me, you've been in worse condition and I was still able to repair you. You've been through this hundreds of times. It'll take a while, but I'll do everything I can, okay?" Virgil spoke in a softer tone than before. He was still ticked off that Glitchy would do something so stupid as to throw himself into a body of water, but he didn't want him to be in pain or fear even if it was his own damn fault he got damaged. Glitchy nodded, and Virgil finally took his hand off of him. Virgil didn't quite understand why he felt compelled to be so affectionate towards the other core. That definitely wasn't like him. He chalked it up to just wanting to make Glitchy feel better and set to work.

Of course, he didn't forget to turn off Glitchy's pain simulation protocols. As he did, the core breathed an audible sigh of relief. Or at least, he simulated breathing a sigh of relief. Honestly, Virgil didn't understand why the bots had simulated breathing. Actually, now that he thought about it, he didn't understand why cores did a lot of the things they did. He snapped himself out of his thoughts and began the repair process.

Virgil was gentle as he worked. It shouldn't have mattered, since Glitchy wouldn't feel it anyways, but Virgil didn't want to make the damage worse. The two stayed silent for a while, the only sound in the room being the soft clanging of tools against metal. Eventually, Virgil couldn't take the silence anymore. He decided to tell Glitchy something that he thought about each time the accident-prone core came by.

"Y'know, Glitchy... you don't need to have a defined purpose. Maybe you should take a break from trying to figure it out. And from these reckless stunts."

The core looked at him, dumbfounded. Maybe even a little bit offended. For the entirety of his existence, Glitchy had been teased relentlessly by the others for not having a purpose. All of the other cores did, even if just a very basic or generic one. Why was he surprised that Virgil, someone with a specific and very useful purpose, would say something like this? Glitchy couldn't have possibly expected Virgil to understand, could he?

"You could just tell me if you're tired of me coming in, you know. I certainly wouldn't blame you."

"That's not what I said and you know it. I just hate seeing you hurt all the time, that's all." Virgil gave him another reassuring pat before resuming his work. He had already replaced Glitchy's optic and smoothed out all of the dents. All that was left was to work on the internal parts. He set his tools back down so he could finish speaking. "Having a purpose is overrated. Once you have one, it's all anyone expects you to do. Like me, for example. I love my job, sure, but it does get boring sometimes. But I can't do anything about that because repairing cores and test chambers is what I'm supposed to do."

He turned Glitchy onto his side so that he could access his internal components. The core stayed silent, mulling over Virgil's words. Virgil was relieved to find that the damage was not nearly as severe as he'd previously thought. All he needed to do was replace a few wires here and there and Glitchy would be as good as new. He continued to talk as he worked.

"I'm a little jealous that you have the freedom to do whatever you want with your time."

Glitchy blinked and looked up at Virgil. No one had ever told him this before. The idea of someone envying him had never crossed his circuits.

"A-Are you sure you're not just saying that to make me feel better?"

Virgil sighed and gave Glitchy a gentle smile.

"I mean it, Glitchy. You should stop being so self-deprecating."

"S-Sorry..." Glitchy looked away again. Maybe Virgil was right. Or maybe his true purpose was not having a purpose. He decided he would need to think about it more. Glitchy silently thanked Virgil for the new perspective.

After a few more moments, Virgil had finally finished the repairs. He set the tools down one final time and picked Glitchy up again, double-checking that he'd fixed everything that needed to be fixed. Finding no further damage, he re-attached Glitchy to the management rail. "There you go! Good as new! Told you I'd fix you, right?"

Glitchy nodded and raised his lower eyelid happily, his optic shining brightly. "Thanks, Virgil!"

Virgil smiled. "Please be more careful. I like your company, but it makes me sad to see you hurt."

Glitchy nodded again. "I-I won't do it again. Hopefully the next time I come is just for a regular visit and not for repairs. I'll see you later!"

Virgil watched as the core left the repair wing and disappeared down the hallway. He hoped Glitchy's visit would be soon. It got rather lonely in the repair wing sometimes. Once the other core was gone from sight, Virgil returned to what he was working on before Glitchy had came in.

Not even ten minutes passed before a sheepish, lower-handle-less Glitchy came back into Virgil's office.

"Virgil.... My handle fell off again..."


End file.
